A clean heart create for me, O God.
Lent comes to us again with a necessary wake up call. That call is to greater self-awareness of the way in which I live my life and the preparedness of my soul for the gift of salvation. In Lent, we come to realize that no matter how well we started off the year or how good my intentions are to lead a worthy life, I will fall short. I can’t rely on my own strength to overcome temptation and draw closer to God. I will sin, and I will fail without the merciful forgiveness of the Father.
We listen to the words of the psalmist whose prayer is one of longing, not just a fresh start, but a clean heart and a heart that is steadfast on remaining true to the God who saves us. Once again, our Ash Wednesday celebrations were overwhelmingly well attended, not by obligation (Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation), but by a genuine desire to repent, to seek renewal, and restore our relationship with the God who loves us and desires to save us.
In his message beginning the season of Lent, Pope Leo XIV invites us to refocus our lives on the mystery of God and to open our hearts more deeply to Him and to others. In doing so, he offered three key words to guide the Lenten journey, Listening, Fasting and Together. He calls us to practice listening, not with ears but with open hearts. Fasting is not merely abstaining from food, he says. He encourages a fasting from hurtful words: refraining from harsh language, rash judgments, gossip, and slander so that speech becomes a source of kindness, hope and peace. And he reminds us that Lent is not an individual journey but a communal one: families, parishes and communities are called to listen together, to support one another in conversion, and to respond to the cries of the poor and afflicted. The Holy Father’s entire Lenten message can be found at vatican.va.
LENT THIS WEEK
Lenten Soup Supper – Thursday, February 26 at 6:00 pm in the school auditorium. Join us for a simple meal of homemade soup prepared by parishioners. To register, contact: barbarap@srolchurch.org or call the rectory.
Faith and Sports – We invite all high school students to begin the season of Lent with a Faith and Sports Night on Friday, February 27 from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Please RSVP via the St. Rose High School GroupMe or by email to jt@fiveloavesmin.org.
Lenten Parish Retreat – Fr. Roger Lopez, OFM will be leading this year’s Lenten retreat. He will preach at all masses next weekend and will lead us at either the 9:00 am daily mass or an evening program beginning at 7:00 pm, Monday, March 2 to Wednesday, March 4. A flyer can be found in the bulletin, and a video invitation from Fr. Roger can be found on our website, social media, and at tinyurl.com/SROL-26Retreat.
For more information on all our Lenten activities, go to tinyurl.com/SROL-LENT26 or pick up an information card with a QR code that links to our Lenten activities page.
Lenten Requirements
All Catholics who have reached their 14th year are bound to abstain entirely from meat on Fridays of Lent. You are also strongly encouraged to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation by taking the opportunity to go to confession this Lent.
TIME TO PLAN – As I have previously mentioned, this Fall we will begin our yearlong celebration leading up to our parish’s 75th Anniversary in November of 2027. Our Silver Jubilee will be a grace-filled time for us to look back with gratitude, celebrate the good work the Lord is doing within us today, and discern where God is calling us.
I am, therefore, inviting all parishioners, young and old, to join me in a brainstorming meeting to imagine and plan what our jubilee year will look like. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:00 pm in the Rectory Meeting Room.
Thank you for saving the date. I look forward to hearing from you that evening.
Peace!
